A 23-year-old small-scale miner, Ahmed Abdul Rahaman, who tricked two mobile money vendors into transferring a total of GH¢8,000 through fraudulent electronic transactions, has been fined GH¢12,000 or, in default, sentenced to six years in prison by the Tarkwa Circuit Court.
Rahaman, who pleaded guilty with an explanation to four counts of receiving payments through an electronic medium falsely, was convicted based on his admission.
The court, presided over by Mrs Hathia Ama Manu, accepted his explanation and proceeded with the conviction.
In addition to the fine, Rahaman was ordered to refund the GH¢8,000 to the two mobile money vendors, according to a GNA report.
The prosecution, led by Chief Superintendent of Police Alex Odonkor, revealed that the complainants, Evelyn Lartey and Prince Appiah, were mobile money vendors in Wassa Asikuma within the Wassa Amenfi East Municipality. They were both familiar with Rahaman, who resided in the same community.
On April 10, 2024, during Eid ul-Fitr, Rahaman approached Evelyn at her place of business and asked her to transfer GH¢1,000 into his MTN mobile money account, using the name Sadick Abdulai Baafi. He convinced her to transfer a second GH¢1,000, claiming his brother would bring the cash to pay her back. He then requested an additional GH¢2,000, which Evelyn also transferred, as she waited for Rahaman’s promised repayment.
However, Rahaman did not return with the money as promised, and Evelyn soon realised she had been deceived.
Rahaman then approached Appiah, another mobile money vendor, and similarly convinced him to transfer GH¢2,000 into his MTN account, using the same story about his brother bringing cash. Rahaman asked for another GH¢2,000, but when Appiah waited for his return, Rahaman did not come back with the money.
Both Evelyn and Appiah, realising they had been defrauded in the same manner, went to Rahaman’s home where they confronted him. They then took him to the Wassa Akropong police station for further investigation.
In his caution statement, Rahaman admitted to the offence and explained that he had used the stolen money to play an online game in the hope of winning and repaying the complainants. Unfortunately, he lost the money in the game.
